I think every homeowner dreams of having a cozy movie room in their home. After giving attention to the essential parts of the home like the bedroom and kitchen, you shouldn’t forget the entertainment area in your house. A movie room isn’t only an area to watch your favorite films but also a place to bond with your family. 

Your movie room should have a decent flat-screen TV or video projector, sound system, and proper lighting. Plus, it must have comfortable seats and essential room decorations. Here’s a list of ideas for building your dream movie room. 

Make It Look Like a Mini Cinema House

For the feel of being in a real cinema house, you can have tiered seating, sconce lights, and velvet walls in your movie room. That’s the classic look, and it’s achievable in a decent-sized room in your house. 

For the tiered seating, you can have a framework of joists of 2x6 boards. On top of the framework is an interior-grade plywood, and then cover the plywood with a carpet. 

Install a Good A/V Component Rack

You should build a rack for your audio-visual devices. This A/V component rack is the control point that enables you to enjoy some fun and good entertainment in your movie room. You’ll control here the video player, network media streaming box, cable box, and audio system. 

Make sure to put your A/V component rack near an electrical outlet. For a stable internet connection, don’t forget to have an Ethernet source cable. Lastly, there should be proper ventilation in the room to ensure that your A/V components don’t heat up and get damaged. The rack must be open in the sides, front, and back to avoid isolation of heat inside.

Control Ambient Sound

Sounds and noises from the outside should not enter into your movie room. Ambient sound from the washing machine, dishwasher, and human voices in other rooms can wreck your enjoyment of watching movies inside this dedicated space. 

There are various ways to control ambient sound in your movie room. First, you can soundproof it by installing a sound-reducing soundboard or adding another layer of drywall. It can also help if you choose solid doors instead of hollow-core doors and use caulks to seal cracks in the room. Then, hang thick curtains to absorb the sound coming from the outside. 

Control Ambient Light

Aside from ambient sound, you should also control ambient light in your movie room. Always remember that the less light in your movie room, the better. Unwanted light can ruin the images generated by the TV screen or video projector. Keep the lighting in the movie room lower to avoid light bleeding. 

Before you build your movie room, choose a dedicated space where light doesn’t easily enter. That’s why many homeowners turn their basement into a movie room. Also, buy a video projector or TV screen with a high lumens rating. 

Then, choose specialized shades or curtains that block ambient light. Another way to control unwanted light is to use a dark paint for the ceiling and walls because this color has a low light reflection. 

Proper Lighting System

You should invest in a proper lighting system to make your movie room look awesome. Typically, movie rooms have dimmers, soffit lighting, recessed lights, and rope lights. There are now smart lights that you can turn on and off or change colors at the push of a button. 

Soffit lighting creates the vibe in the room as it emits light around the room’s perimeter. You can also add dimmers near the seats to keep you safe as you walk to this area. Small recessed lights are also essential in the movie room, but you need to place a majority of them behind the viewer to prevent light bleeding. 

Ensure the Room Can Receive Signals

A self-contained movie room was from the days of old. Today, you must have an excellent internet connection to watch TV series and movies. That’s why you need to ensure that your movie room can receive Wi-Fi signals efficiently. 

Have a dedicated Wi-Fi router in the movie room or use a Mesh Wi-Fi to eliminate dead zones in this area. 

Keep It Simple

The simpler, the better. That's the thing you should keep in mind when decorating your movie room. Make it a dedicated space for entertainment, and you should avoid putting things unrelated to your movie room. 

You can paste up your favorite movie posters but don’t overdo it. Make sure that these posters don’t distract you while you’re watching movies. 

Takeaway

One thing to consider when building your movie room is to maximize your viewing experience. You should feel comfortable while you’re watching your favorite films in it, and there should be no distractions like unwanted sound or light. Keep this guide to ensure you build your movie room the right way.